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(No Model.)

1). HIGOLES.

FELL CUTTER AND TRIMMER. No. 247,813. Patented Sept. 20,1881.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID H. OOLES, OF NEW YORK N. Y.

FELL CUTTER AND TRIMMER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 247,313, dated September 20, 1881. Application filed March .21, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, DAVID H. OoLEs, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fell Gutters or Trimmers, of which the following is a specification.

It is the object of the present invention to trim the edges of two thicknesses of cloth or other textile fabric at the same time the thicknesses are sewed together, so that the edges will be fitted to be turned over and formed into a felled seam; and the invention consists in the combination of a fell cutter or trimmer with a sewing-machine, and also in the construction and arrangement of certain parts composing the trimmer itself, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a side elevation of the fell-trimming device secured to a sewing-machine. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the same on the line 00 m of Fig. 1, the knives being forced down. Fig. 4c is a plan view of the under side of the device. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the top of the same. Fig. 6 represents the device with one of the knives removed. Fig. 7 represents pieces of cloth after they have been sewed together and trimmed for a felled seam. Fig. 8 represents pieces of cloth whose edges are trimmed along the same line at the same. time they are sewed together.

In these drawings, A is a foot whose under side is flat and smooth and fitted to press the cloth down upon the table ofa sewing-machine. This foot is partially divided in the direction of its length, forming the parts designated by a and 11, between which cutting or trimming knives c and 0 operate. These cutters are secured to one end of a stock, B, whose opposite end is pivoted to the rear of the foot, so as to permit an upward and downward movement of the knives or cutters.

O is a spring secured to the rear of the foot, and bears against the under side of the stock B, and by its elasticity forces the knives upward from the cloth when the downward force is removed.

e e are thin plates projecting from the part 12 toward the part a of the foot, and arrangedrelatively to each other so as to form a narrow passage between them, through which the edge of one thickness of cloth is fed while the other thickness of cloth passes over the surface of the upper plate, 6. The plate 6 is provided with a narrow opening,f, through which the knife 0 works, and the lower plate, 6, is cut away on a line with the outer margin of the opening f, but so as to leave a lip, g, at its front end, to assist to keep the cloth in place. The outer margin or wall of the openiugfand the corresponding edge directly under it of the plate 6 furnish edge surfaces against which the two thicknesses of the cloth are cut or trimmed by knife 0, this knife being so adjusted in the stock B that it will enter trim both edges of the cloth along the same line, provided both reach under the knife 0. The knife cis located at such distance from the knife 0 as it is desired to trim the edge of the upper thickness of cloth narrower than the lower thickness for forming a felled seam, and the knife 0 cuts or shears its single thickness of cloth against the edge of the plate 0, it being so adjusted that it cannot -cut through more than one thickness. There is an opening, 2', between the edge of the plate 6 and the part a, through which the needle vibrates, and a space or opening, j, through which the upper thickness of the cloth passes, and in which the knife 0 works.

his an adjustable screw fixed in the stock above the cutters or knives, and can be readily raised or lowered for the purpose of adjusting the throw of the knives by bringing the head of the screw nearer to orfarther from the needlebar or other vibrating device which is used to force the knives down upon the cloth.

Preferably, the fell-trimmer is to be attached to the presser-bar E of a sewing-machine in lieu of the ordinary presser-foot, the attachment being made by a screw passing through the part a. Preferably, also, the parts are so arranged and proportioned that the knives will be forced down to their work by the striking of the end of the needle-bar D upon the head of the screw h. While this is by far the simplest and most economical attachment, it is seen that the device could be attached to the machine otherwise than by the ordinary pres'serbar and the knives operated by other means than the needle-bar.

The operation of the device is as follows: After it has been attached to the presser-bar of a sewing-machine, as shown in Fig. 1, the fabric is folded over upon itself, so that the edges are in nearly the same line. It is then passed under the part a of the foot, and arranged so that the upper edge lies upon the plate e, while the lower edge lies between the plates 6 and e and against the line of junction of these plates. This position of the cloth is illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. It is now ready to be sewed together and trimmed by the knives, and as the machine is being operated and the cloth fed forward the side of the part b of the foot in the one case and the line of junction of the plates in the other will serve as guides to the cloth,thus insuring even trimming of the edges. The needle-bar of the machine in its descent strikes against the screw h and forces the knives down through the fabric, and when the needle-bar rises and the V knives are relieved from their downward press- 7 of the drawings, they are fitted to be felled over, and the felled seam may be completed by hand or by means of a machine with hemmer attachment, as desired.

If it is desired to trim the edges of two thicknesses of cloth along the same line at the same time, they are sewed together, the knife 0 may be omitted from the fell-trimmer, and the cloth can then be left as shown in Fig. 8.

What is claimed as new is 1. The combination, substantially as described, of a sewing-machine and a trimming device consisting of two knives adapted to cut or trim the edge of one thickness of fabric narrower than the edge of the other thickness at the same time the two thicknesses are sewed together, and thus adapt them to be formed into a felled seam.

2. A fell cutter or trimmer provided with two knives and openin gs, f and j, in which the knives operate, and an opening, i, for the vibration of the needle, substantially as set forth.

3. In a fell cutter or trimmer adapted to be attached to and operate with asewing-m achine, the combination of the foot A, knives c and 0, plates 6 and e, and spring 0, all arranged substantially as described and shown.

DAVID H. OOLES.

Witnesses:

R0151. H. DUNCAN, BENJ. A. SMITH. 

